Do You Own a Cell Phone?

[Raffine]

After years of resistance and little interest, I finally got one last spring for the main reason already mentioned: in case of emergencies while on my daily commute over some very isolated rural roads.

My cell phone of choice - a LG TracFone I got a the Dollar General Store for 35 bucks. I have to add $10.00 worth of minutes every three months or so. No frills, and it looks like one of those Star Trek communicators, so I'm good.

[the master]

im getting one soon but its not like EVERY FREAKING TEENAGER IN THE WORLD HAS ONE
BUT ME the only reason i want one is i can talk to my friends that for some reason refuse to talk to me on the phone so  they want me to text them (whats the f****** point of texting anyways?)

[Mr_Vindictive]

the master,

I was one who could not figure out the point of texting.  I came into it late, but I must say that texting is a bit addictive.  Most of the time now, when someone wants to get in touch with me, they text me rather than actually giving me a call.  It's a simple way to communicate.  I'm one that doesn't really talk all that much but is more than happy to text someone.  I now love the texting feature with phones and don't know what I would do without it.

[Mr. DS]

I'm just simply amazed at the amount of crap some phones have.  The I-Phone is a prime example.  I consider it the swiss army knives of cell phones.  Just like the knife, some of the things you need to get by in every day life.  Most of it though is kind of excessive.  If you loose it, which is more than possible seeing its so small, you're out a lot of stuff in one package.  I have the cheapest phone money can buy and I'm glad. 

[dean]

What's a cell phone? 

We call them 'mobiles' here, short for mobile phone.

I don't have a landline, so mobile is the way to go for me.  Don't leave home without it. 

Sending messages is handy for getting onto people when you or them are at work, or to just say 'I'm bored, want to do something later.'  Also mass messaging for party info etc. 

It's funny, they're probably really bad for us with radio-waves etc, but it really is a fantastic invention. 

As for the 'now people can call you at anytime' thing as a negative, most phone's have the ability to see who's calling, unless it's a private number, so often I just don't pick up if it's a number I don't know and I'm not expecting a call from anyone not in my phone.

That way they can either leave a message on the machine or send me an SMS if they're really after me.

[schmendrik]

My wife and I actually have discovered texting, and actually do it more often than calling each other. Two reasons: (a) Good chance the other person is in a meeting, and they can get your text message at a time when they couldn't accept a call, (b) text can get through when the signal is too poor to use voice.

But unlike most people, I tend to text the way I write e-mail, in whole sentences with whole words. I'm one of those grumpy grammarians who detests reading stuff like "r u rdy 4..."

[Torgo]

I didn't have a cell phone at all until I bought my 1st house about 3 years and 9 months ago.

All of my family members have Verizon cell phone coverage so I figured I would just get Verizon as well since I could call my mom as much as I want to since she lives 6 1/2 hours from me and my sisters.

I don't have a land line as there's no need for one for me.

[Derf]

I didn't really want one, but when I figured up our bills, it was roughly the same cost to pay for a land line + internet service as it was to get cell phones & broadband cable internet. So, we did away with our land lines and now are cell only. I don't like to talk on the phone, but it does come in handy as my business phone; it seems more professional to me for someone to call me direct than to have them call my house & talk to my daughter (my business isn't big enough to warrant another line just for customer calls). The down side of that is that I can't just ignore a call because it might be a customer wanting to set up an appointment  (good for me that it's an appointment; bad for me that I can't ignore the call). As for texting, I do it as little as possible, and then always in complete sentences, because, like schmendrick, I am a grammarian who dislikes the txtng crp.

[BeyondTheGrave]

I have one but don't use it to much. Its also simple and cheap with no fluff. I can't understand the fancy phones like IPhone or a blackberry for two reason: When they fall once their all pretty much done for. Anything that seems to get fancy or has a big screen you drop it once its broke. I used to have a old motorola and people were like I wish I had that those things never break.

Second reason and Darksider pointed it out, Some people have their whole lives in those things. Music, important dates, etc. and if they lose their screwed and can't function. When I had to replace my old phone it wasn't a huge deal. I lost some numbers but I had the same number and when people called I was ok. I also found out that a company like T-Mobile, if someone steals your phone or finds and keeps and say has T-Mobile too(Which alot of people have over here in NYC) all they do is replace their sim card with the new stolen phone it works no question asked. Upgrade for free 

[Dennis]

My wife and I both have basic cell phones, got them for emergencies because public phones are so hard to find anymore.
I generally call Poogie on the way home from work to let her know I'm coming home and haven't had a heart attack and died, mainly I call to say hi and see if we need any thing from the store, the phone has a speaker and hands free operation so it's safe and this does cut down on trips to the store for odds and ends, other than this I don't use the phone for much at all. Since my mother in law passed away my wife doesn't use hers at all. We just got a catalogue in the mail from Verizon, we're entitled to a free upgrade to a fancy communication device that has every whistle and bell that modern electronics can provide, because it's free my wife is probably going to get these things. I sometimes wonder how we all survived so long without these essential electronic gizmo's.

[the master]

the master,

I was one who could not figure out the point of texting.  I came into it late, but I must say that texting is a bit addictive.  Most of the time now, when someone wants to get in touch with me, they text me rather than actually giving me a call.  It's a simple way to communicate.  I'm one that doesn't really talk all that much but is more than happy to text someone.  I now love the texting feature with phones and don't know what I would do without it.

thanks for the info karma
now I'm a little more exited for getting on next week